Mayor Bloomberg is advocating passage of a bill to permit outdoor concerts to be held within 500 feet of a synagogue, according to an article by Joe Maniscalco in today's edition of The Brooklyn Paper.
"Days after opponents of Borough President Markowitz's $64-million concert amphitheater proposal sued to prevent the Beep from running his popular summer concert series, Mayor Bloomberg began a push to fast-track a bill through the Council that would make amplified music legal - no matter how close it is to a house of worship," the article said.
The bill would toss out the existing 500-foot sound rule - and could be voted on as early as next week. The only Council hearing on the bill will be today at City Hall, a hearing that did not have the customary advance warning.
The article quoted Al Turk, a vice president of Temple Beth Abraham, one of the two synagogues located within 500 feet of the concert series in Asser Levy Park, as stating that "this is such a low thing to do," adding "if we had time, we could have organized a bus" of protesters.
The lawsuit seeks a restraining order preventing Markowitz from kicking off the concerts on July 15 with Neil Sedaka. It was spurred by Markowitz's larger plan for a $64-million amphitheater in Asser Levy Park. Opponents said they only discovered the existance of the 500-foot rule when they started putting together their lawsuit.
"This is such a low thing to do," said Al Turk, a vice president of Temple Beth Abraham, one of the two synagogues located within 500 feet of Markowitz's annual concert series in Asser Levy Park. "If we had time, we could have organized a bus" of protesters.
The bill has a good chance of passing, according to the article, which noted that Councilman Domenic Recchia (D-Coney Island) is a longtime supporter of the amphitheater project and is a concert promoter in Asser Levy Park whose amplified concerts could be affected by the lawsuit.
Mr. Markowitz issued a statement hailing the mayor's bill for meaning that "the show will go on and....continue to bring joy to thousands." He also "lashed out at his opponents as using the 500-foot 'to hold these shows hostage to an agenda to stop future park renovations....The [amphitheater will include a renovated covered band shell as well as improved drainage, walkways, a new state-of-the-art comfort station and fabulous new accessible playground [and will only make the park better and more usable for the surrounding community.'"
The article said that a spokesman for the mayor, Andrew Brent, argued that the new sound bill addresses shortcomings in the exiting 500-foot rule, the article said, adding that "Every venue is different, so basing the rule on a one-size-fits-all distance may not be the most effective way to do it."
Ida Sanoff, however, a plaintiff in the suite, argued in the article that "This is Marty Markowitz smashing the public under the heel of his jackboot."
"Days after opponents of Borough President Markowitz's $64-million concert amphitheater proposal sued to prevent the Beep from running his popular summer concert series, Mayor Bloomberg began a push to fast-track a bill through the Council that would make amplified music legal - no matter how close it is to a house of worship," the article said.
The bill would toss out the existing 500-foot sound rule - and could be voted on as early as next week. The only Council hearing on the bill will be today at City Hall, a hearing that did not have the customary advance warning.
The article quoted Al Turk, a vice president of Temple Beth Abraham, one of the two synagogues located within 500 feet of the concert series in Asser Levy Park, as stating that "this is such a low thing to do," adding "if we had time, we could have organized a bus" of protesters.
The lawsuit seeks a restraining order preventing Markowitz from kicking off the concerts on July 15 with Neil Sedaka. It was spurred by Markowitz's larger plan for a $64-million amphitheater in Asser Levy Park. Opponents said they only discovered the existance of the 500-foot rule when they started putting together their lawsuit.
"This is such a low thing to do," said Al Turk, a vice president of Temple Beth Abraham, one of the two synagogues located within 500 feet of Markowitz's annual concert series in Asser Levy Park. "If we had time, we could have organized a bus" of protesters.
The bill has a good chance of passing, according to the article, which noted that Councilman Domenic Recchia (D-Coney Island) is a longtime supporter of the amphitheater project and is a concert promoter in Asser Levy Park whose amplified concerts could be affected by the lawsuit.
Mr. Markowitz issued a statement hailing the mayor's bill for meaning that "the show will go on and....continue to bring joy to thousands." He also "lashed out at his opponents as using the 500-foot 'to hold these shows hostage to an agenda to stop future park renovations....The [amphitheater will include a renovated covered band shell as well as improved drainage, walkways, a new state-of-the-art comfort station and fabulous new accessible playground [and will only make the park better and more usable for the surrounding community.'"
The article said that a spokesman for the mayor, Andrew Brent, argued that the new sound bill addresses shortcomings in the exiting 500-foot rule, the article said, adding that "Every venue is different, so basing the rule on a one-size-fits-all distance may not be the most effective way to do it."
Ida Sanoff, however, a plaintiff in the suite, argued in the article that "This is Marty Markowitz smashing the public under the heel of his jackboot."
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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